PANL Jumps 6%: Panasonic TV Deal Could Catalyze, Says Goldman

By Tiernan Ray

Shares of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology maker Universal Display (PANL) are up $2.50, or 6.4%, at $41.46 today after some upbeat remarks by Goldman Sachs’s Brian Lee, who maintains a Buy rating on the shares.

The crux is that Panasonic (PC) is apparently building what Lee brands as Japan’s first 8th-generationfactory for making OLED-based displays for television sets, something Lee didn’t expect would happen until 2013, “at the earliest.”

Now, Panasonic is not known to have any agreements with Universal for TV displays, but it would not be hard, Lee argues, for Panasonic to extend an agreement already signed with Universal back in August for lighting products.

“Given the expected timing for capacity ramp, we see news of another agreement with Panasonic serving as a potential positive catalyst for PANL shares in the near term,” writes Lee.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.